[Jon3G]

By Tim Richardson
Published Monday 16th May 2005 12:06 GMT
Stelios Haji-Ioannou is threatening legal action against a Welsh business unless it ditches its name.

Dave Evans runs a company called Esus which trades under the name easymobile. Up and running since 2003, Evans employs some 50 people in Swansea and Port Talbot, reports Ananova.

Stelios finally began accepting punters for his no-frills cellco easyMobile.com in March this year. But as someone highly protective of his brand, he's given Evans just ten days to change the name of his business - or face legal action.

But it seems Evans won't give up without a scrap.

He told Ananova: "I'm extremely angry about this and I'm going to fight it all the way. It's as if his company thinks it has a monopoly on the word easy."

A spokesman for easyGroup said the company had had spent a lot of money building up rights in the use of the name 'easy'.

"We will always vigorously defend our intellectual property in order to protect both our brand and consumers lest they should be confused into thinking that a company using the name easy is part of the easyGroup when, in reality, it is not," he told us.

In February Orange kicked off a high court claim against easyMobile.com claiming that its use of the colour orange clashed with Orange's use of orange.

Stelios' response was to the point. "I will see them in court, he said.

"It is our right to use our own corporate colour for which we have become famous during the last 10 years. We have nothing to be afraid of in this court case." ®
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/05/16/easy_evans/

[3GScottishUser]

We know who owns and opertates Ananova...... dont we!!!

[3g-g]

lol @ 3GSU.. So, if you've used the company name easymobile since 2003, where does Stelios think he stands? It's been around for 2 years more than his concept, my thoughts would be that a court would find in favour of who has been using the name longest surely? I can see Orange's position over the fact that he's trying to be a service provider, the same as Orange, and use the colour, I think that could be a tough one to call, but one I think Orange would win. But trying to make the word " easy" your intellectual property...? Stelios, I think you're going to have an uphill battle there...

[Hands0n]

Isn't this akin to the Apple vs Microsoft battle over WIMP (Windows, Icons, Mice and Pointers) way back in the 1970's? They tried to corner the global market on the very concept of Windowed operating systems, and failed. Now we have corporates trying to claim rights to words from the English language, and colours? Is there no end to the absurdity??

I can clearly read the word "Easymobile.com" in the colour orange and not associate it with the corporate brand "Orange". Equally, I can clearly read the word "Easymobile.com" and "Easymobile" and not make the link between the two - unless boyo from the valley is using the same fount and colour, which I presume he is not (unless he really wants to end up in the clink).

A quick Google of the word "Easymobile" brings up 674 articles, I did not go through all of them but the first five pages only referenced Easymobile.com. So on that basis, I don't think Stelios has too much to worry about!

All this corporate kick-a55ing is a major distraction from the business at hand. Anyone at the mobile ops remember what that is exactly? :eek:

[delinquentwoody]

Imagine if the smaller firm won, and Stelios had to change his easyMobile brand name to something else - how embarassing would that be for him!!

[kryten]

Why shouldn't the smaller company win? Easymobile has existed longer than easymobile.com and it makes it seem as if Stellios has swallowed the smaller company. You cannot monopolise a commonly used word.

[Jon3G]

easy versus Easy
http://www.mobiletoday.co.uk/artman-test/publish/article_429.shtml

[Hands0n]

Hee hee - this should be a very interesting story to follow :)

Of course, one would presume that the right to use the name is on a First Come First Served basis, and in that respect easyMobile have not got very strong footing to stand on. The only people going to get rich out of this are going to be the lawyers. I don't reckon easyMobile should go getting all strong arm stylee with the smaller dealer/s. It'll likely come back on them in the courts.

Re their Customer Services - I have found them efficient so far. Asked for a PUK outside of their normal hours via eMail and got a response this morning when they came in! Can't say fairer than that I reckon.